Exploring more of Thailand’s Beautiful South with Street View

Tachai, Maithon and Surin Islands are now available for virtual tours as Google launches 9 new special collects on Street View

Plus, tips for how Google apps can turn your smartphone into the perfect travel companion

Phuket, Thailand – December 16, 2016. Today, Google announced that Special Collects from nine beautiful islands in Thailand’s South are now available to explore in rich 360˚ panoramic imagery on Google Street View. From Similan islands to Maithon, this new set of imagery gives Thais and tourists alike the chance to see the beauty, diversity and untouched nature of these islands right from the palm of their hands.

Using Street View on desktop or Google Maps for Mobile, which is available on iOS and Android, people can now virtually wander through a fishing village on Ko Surin Tai, or take a stroll along the coast of the Similan Islands, famous for world-class diving. What’s more, you can even explore places that are no longer accessible to tourists, such as Tachai Island, which was closed for tourism indefinitely.

Michael Jittvanich, head of Marketing, Google Thailand said, “We’re delighted to bring some of Thailand’s most spectacular islands online. As Thailand continues to be one of the world’s most sought after tourism destinations, we’re happy to help provide local and international tourists with a first glimpse of the beauty of this country on Street View. We hope that this new imagery encourages people from near and far to explore more of the wonders of Thailand’s South.”

Turning your smartphone into a great travel companion with Google apps

Street View is just one of many examples for how you can turn your smartphone into the perfect travel companion. For instance, if you’re planning your next vacation, you can ask the Google App “Show me popular sights in Thailand” and follow up with more queries like “What’s the weather there in July”. Once you’ve arrived at your destination, mapping services like Google Maps for Mobile can help you navigate from Bangla Road to Patong Beach, showing you suggestions for great restaurants on the way, or helping you find the food court in Emquartier with indoor maps — all while you’re on the go. And if you ever feels lost in translation, Google Translate is there to help, with features like conversational translate. With the help of Google Photos, you can also better organize the hundreds of beautiful pictures of you took during your trip, and easily find this cute photo of monkeys on the beach to show your friends at home — with a simple photo search.

So whether it’s making plans for an upcoming vacation, acting as a wayfinder and translater, or providing you with useful tips while you’re on the road, your smartphone is there to help during your travel.